Paper rolls which are produced by the paper making industry are usually stored and shipped standing on end. The paper rolls may be about 1 foot to about 11 feet in width and may have diameters of about 2 feet to about 6 feet. In order to protect the paper rolls during storage and shipment, the paper rolls are commonly packaged using roll wrap. In general, roll wrap includes a wrapper that circumscribes the paper roll, and is crimped about the outer peripheral edge portions of the paper roll. Headers can be applied to the ends of the paper roll to protect the paper roll from moisture and mechanical impacts, and to facilitate automated handling without risk of damaging the paper roll.
Paper roll wraps are commonly available having hot melt adhesive provided along the portion of the roll wrap where it is desirable to provide adhesive bonding. Hot melt adhesive is commonly provided on the header to help seal the roll wrap to protect the paper roll from moisture and mechanical impacts. The header commonly includes an inside header and an outside header. The inside header can be provided abutting the end of the paper roll with the wrapper crimped thereover. The outside header can include the hot melt adhesive for sealing to the inside header and to the crimped wrapper end. Accordingly, the inside header helps protect the roll of paper from the hot melt adhesive on the outside header. Heated platens are often used to apply the outside header. An exemplary patent that describes the use of a hot melt adhesive for applying an outside header includes U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,459 to Ruohio et al.
The roll wrap can rely upon the presence of a thermoplastic polymer coating for providing a heat seal. Exemplary thermoplastics that can be used to provide a heat seal include polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyvinyl. Exemplary patents describing the use of thermoplastics for heat seal include U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,566 to Yount and U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,374 to Lamb.
Various equipment designs are available for wrapping paper rolls. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,459 to Ruohio et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,600 to Hooper et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,462 to Karr, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,608 to Ohtonen.